The Git (source code management) sidebar allows you to perform specific Git operations from within Nova. Nova’s git support is built-in and does not require any additional software to be installed.

To use the Git sidebar, you must open a Workspace that contains an existing Git repository. If your current workspace is not in a Git repository, the Git sidebar will give you the option to initialize one.

As you work in a Workspace that has been configured for Git, files will appear in the Git sidebar if they have been flagged by the version control system. For example, a file flagged as “M” has been modified. These flags generally correspond to their equivalents in the command line tools.

Depending on which flags the file has, different actions will be made available. Our hypothetical “M” file will be displayed in the Changes list with a checkbox for staging.

Actions are available at the top of the Git sidebar and include Fetch, Pull, and Push, as well as the ability to create or checkout branches. These actions, as well as the ability to discard changes to a file can be accessed from the Project > Git menu.

You can also select the History list to view previous commits. Double-click a previous commit to view details about the commit including its SHA hash, plus additional options such as making a new branch, tagging, or checking out the commit.

Nova will periodically update the Git sidebar with the repository’s status. You can manually refresh the status flags of the repository at any time by clicking the refresh button to the left of Stage All.

A full discussion on how to use source control is beyond the scope of this article. Please refer to the Git User Guide for more information.

Using Git Accounts in Nova

Nova currently supports six types of Git accounts: GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, GitLab, self-hosted GitLab, Bitbucket Cloud, and Bitbucket Server. You can add any of these Git accounts under Settings > Git Accounts.

Note: You’ll need a personal access token to add one of these accounts, which both GitHub and GitLab can help you set up. Once authenticated, you can use your Git account to fetch, pull, and push to and from remote repositories hosted on these services.